I still try to make one CW QSO every day. I think that the mode activity is growing not dieing. It's now used for the love of the mode, not because it had to learned to gain certain license privileges.
I've used olivia mode almost exclusively now since the band conditions have been so poor. It is a great mode. One thing I was glad to see in the article was the advice to turn on TXID. I have used the modes long enough to recognize what mode most of them are by sound, still many sound similar (olivia, contestia). I have had many operators new to these modes tell me they were having trouble identifying the mode. TXID solves that problem and makes it easy for new converts no matter the mode. As far as the FT/JT modes, personally I don't have much use for them. I'm one of those old guys that like to have a conversation. But that doesn't mean the JT/FT modes are "Bad". Choice of mode is one of the things that make ham radio great. I think one of the things that got olivia ops so upset was being on 14.074 for so long then being kicked to the curb by a new mode. I know nobody "owns" a frequency but I think FT8 could have been started someplace else considering the long standing use of olivia on 14.074. That said, it's history now and I don't expect it to change. I'll survive and so will olivia mode on 14.073+-.
Conversation? Chatting? Making new friends? Do 'ya mean these things still exist? Is there more to a QSO than 5NN TU and collecting points? Perish the thought!
FT8 isn't for everyone. I got bored with it pretty fast but I have a friend who loves it. To each his own.
That's why amateur radio is the best hobby in the world. So much to do, so much to explore whatever anyone person is interested in. This US vs. THEM thing that I see with these threads doesn't really gain anything.
Chat modes, basically any mode other than JT-type modes are indeed nice but seems all I get are the macro dumpers. I just cringe when I get the final macro: Thank you OM for 20 meter Oliva QSO #1234 on 14.073.12 mhz at 1230:45 UTC. Best DX to you in 2009 (?). QSO #12345 logged at 1234:56 UTC 18 November 2017 at 10 degrees C.
Getting tired of JT65 and was wanting some mode to at least 'chat' a bit. After reading this article tuned into one the frequencies and it just didn't seem like a real conversation. Now i know why. d*it, everything is becoming automated about HAM radio, soon it will not need an operator, oh wait for some things it does not now. I'll give Oliva another try sometime.
As I post this, the time is nearly 9:00 PM in the center of the USofA, or, 02:47 UTC. I've got to finish writing the December 2017 Propagation and Space Weather column for The Spectrum Monitor magazine { https://www.thespectrummonitor.com }. I am monitoring 40m and 80m off and on but I really have to get my column finished and sent off the publisher! I want to reply to some of the comments, but I will have limited time over the next few days. If anyone is interested, check out my column in TSM. I'll be writing up some information about Olivia in the next few editions. 73 for now NW7US
Oh that hits the nail on the old head. Same reason I gave up on psk31. Brag,brag,brag. Nobody likes to talk, but they think everyone likes to hear. They can stuff that brag tape nonsense.
I can't think of anything more horrifically boring and wasteful of spectrum as ragchewing. ;-) Definitely not my cup of tea.
Did not read all the posts in this thread so the topic may have been discussed. I happen to enjoy working Olivia as an old RTTY operator going way back what I don't understand is why so many formats makes operating it a real PIA what's the problem on settling on one format ?
In the case of Olivia, the different configurations all have different trade-offs between SNR performance, character rate, and QRM resilience.
Gotta put in a plug here for another program that runs this mode (as well as almost every other mode known to hamkind) - MultiPsk (http://f6cte.free.fr/index_anglais.htm). Just a basic GUI, and less demanding on the CPU. There's a regular traffic net in Michigan on 8/500 Olivia, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings 3583 kHz USB, 8PM Eastern time.
Thank you for the article. I have only held my licence 2 years and I’m looking to learn more about these modes of operation.
"Olivia is not a weak signal mode"... Therefore it competes with other "conversational" modes such as CW and RTTY and PSK...and many others. Why should I use Olivia when I can us CW, a totally immersive mode? Olivia has not caught on because it poses no advantage over other options. Period.
